Automobile truck.



' No. 648,736. Patented May 1,1900.

- w. P. FREEMAN.

AUTOMOBILE TRUCK.

A lication filed. May 6, 1899.

- iii LU Bl LFH r 'Y l D g I UXLJ pipe/3Z0;

a IZM may No. 648,736. PateniedMay I, I900. w. P. FREEMAN.

AUTOMOBILE TRUCK.

(Application filed May a, 1899.) (No Model.) v 2-Sheets-Sheet 2.

fiww w UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VARREN l. FREEMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR'TO 'llll) EMPIRE ELECTRICAL MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMOBILE TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,736, dated May 1, 1900.

I Application filed May 6, 1899. Serial No. 715,770. (No model.)

To (l /l w/tom it mgty concern.-

I citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in" the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Trucks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of the same, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a truck or freight-carrying vehicle embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation thereof; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the supportingframe, showing also the worm and worm-gear by means of which the vehicle may be steered.

My invention relates to automobile or socalled horseless vehicles; and it consists especially'in the arrangement of devices by which I attain ease in steering the vehicle, together with other features hereinafter set forth in the claims.

To turn a single wheel, especially if there be no great weight upon it, is much easier than to turn two wheels at opposite ends of a single rigid axle, and-that peculiarity is utilized in thegdevice I am about to describe.

I first bdild a truck body or platform-P.

quite similar in its general featuresto those already'well known, though special forms may'be provided for-particular uses. This body I mount primarily'upon an axle carrying a pair of substantial wheels W W, in-

tended to support the main part of the weight, p

connected that the depression of p closes the interposing springs between, if desired. The

axle A is intended to .be-located-at such a point that the load may be to a great extent "Centrally of the frame F, I bolt fast or otherwise-secure the upper part B of a fifth-wheel.

w w are guiding and power wheels, the power being derived, preferably, from motors M, mounted on the same axis as wheels 20 w. and geared thereto, though that as a separate feature is not a part of the invention intended to be herein claimed and other means of applying power to wheels 10 w might be employed. On suitable brackets b, extending upward from wheels 20 w, I mount the under .part B of the fifth-wheel or swivel device, and frotn it or the frames supporting wheels to w a king-pin K projects upward. Mounted in pillow-blocks b upon part B of the fifth wheel is a short shaft carrying aworm G, and secured to the king-pin Kiand meshing with worm G is a worm-wheel G. Then on the shaft of the worm-gear I mount another gear or sprocket wheel G Pivoted in the platform P and preferably extending'below as well as above it are steering-levers L'L', one to operate wheel w and the other tooperate wheel to. From a'point above the'pivot of lever L a sprocket-chain 0 extends through a slot in the platform to and about sprocket-'- wheel G2 and thence to a point on lever L' below its pivot.

from which sprocket-chain O extendsto and about the sprocket-wheel G2 of the rear-end Forwheel. w I provide asupplement-al lever mounted in a-bracket b steering device, and a long link or rod .1 connectsthe said supplementary lever with the lower arm of the hand-lever L.

s is the drivers seat, so placed as to render it easy for him to operate the levers, andp 11 19 are contact breakers or switches so To move forward, the driver needs'but to depress his left foot, and the circuits of the motors are closed and the power-wheels are revolved and the vehicle moved forward; If it is to turn'to the right, the driver seizes the hand-lever L and'swings it forward or back,

as the ease maybe, to rotate gear (3} and worm;

&

its connected king-pin K, with the attached wheel 20, in the proper direction, at the same time, if he desires, operating lever L to swing wheel 20 in the proper way to assist the movement of the truck. Thus it is apparent that either. or both wheels may be readily operated to cause the, truck to move as desired and that While it may be very strongly built that may be done without interfering with thus operating the steering devices.

What Iclaim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 4 1. A vehicle composed of a platform mounted upon an axle which is provided with two main carrying-wheels and is located about midway of the ends of said platform, and two steering and power wheels, one at each end,

' located midway between the sides of said plat- 20 form and swiveled thereto. A

2. A vehicle composed of a platform mounted upon an axle which is provided with two main carrying-wheeis, and is located midway between theends-of said platform, a steering and power wheel at each end located midway between the sides of the platform and swiveled thereto, hand-levers projecting above the platform and gearing devices interposed between the hand-levers and the steering wheels. I

3. The combination with a ehicle of a steering-wheel swiveled to the frame,'a kingpin extending upward therefrom and carrying a worm-wheel, a Worm-gear secured to the platform and carrying a sprocket-Wheel, a hand-lever mounted in the platform and a sprocket-chain secured to said lever and passing about saidsprocket-wheel.

4. The combination with a vehicle of a steering-wheel swiveled to the frame, a kingpin extending therefrom and carrying awormwheel, a worm-gear secured to the platform and carrying a sprocket-wheel, a hand-lever and intermediate gearing between said handlever and said sprocket geal wheel, whereby the operating of saidhand-leve'r will turn said steering-wheel.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New/York, this 17th day of April, A. D. 1899.

WARREN P. FREEMAN.

Witnesses: I

PETER B. VERMILYA, A. G. N. VERMILYA. 

